Honoring International Human Rights Day in Eight Bulgarian Cities

(Minghui.org) Around International Human Rights Day on December 10, Falun Dafa practitioners held events in ten Bulgarian cities to draw attention to the brutal persecution of the meditation practice by the communist regime in China, a campaign that has lasted over 18 years.

TV Appearances in Sofia and Plovdiv

Practitioners in Sofia appeared on the morning blog of BTV, one of the biggest private TV stations in Bulgaria. Two practitioners discussed how they benefited from Falun Dafa in their personal lives while four others demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises. The segment followed a brief report on the persecution in China.

After the segment aired, people throughout the country started calling local Falun Dafa coordinators with questions about the exercises and where they could learn them.

On December 7, 2017, Public TV Plovdiv aired an interview with a practitioner on Open Studio, a talk show hosted by Diana Bikova. The interview covered human rights in China and ongoing crimes against humanity initiated by former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin, as well as how these violations concern humanity as a whole.

The conversation highlighted the need for Bulgaria to follow countries including Australia, Canada, Belgium, France, Spain, Israel, the United States, and Taiwan to take legislative measures to prevent Bulgarian citizens from unknowingly taking part in the transplantation of illegally sourced organs in China, including from Falun Gong practitioners killed for their faith.

Film Screenings

The documentary Hard to Believe, which examines the harvesting of organs from living prisoners of conscience in China, was presented in the city of Chepelare on December 11, Sofia on December 12, Pazardjik on December 16, and Lukovit on December 1.

On December 10, Public TV Plovdiv aired the documentary “Harvested Alive: Ten Years of Investigation.”

Candlelight Vigil in Front of the Chinese Embassy

In the chilly evening of December 11, 2017, practitioners in Sofia organized a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Embassy. They wrote the Chinese characters for “Falun Dafa is Good” and demonstrated the Dafa exercises in front of the lit embassy windows and next to a police bus and passersby.

Candlelight Vigil

Hundreds Sign Petition Against Persecution of Dafa in China

Practitioners collected signatures in the cities of Varna, Bourgas, Zlatograd, and Pamporovo in support of prosecuting former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin for crimes against humanity, including the persecution of Falun Gong that he initiated in 1999.

Pamporovo

On December 9, many students celebrated a holiday dedicated to all scholars in the ski resort of Pamporovo. Despite bad weather, many passersby took flyers from practitioners and signed the petition.

Among them was a group of seven Japanese students studying at the University of Sofia, who put away their lunch in order to hear information about the practice and to read the flyers in English.

A 10-year old girl from Sofia asked her grandma to talk to the practitioners to find out what were they were about. After learning about the persecution, they signed the petition; the little girl was especially insistent on doing so. Practitioners gave them origami lotus flowers, a symbol of self-cultivation in the Buddha school. The girl even knew that people were doing the Falun Dafa exercises in two parks in Sofia.

A middle-aged man saw the practitioners’ banners and explained that he has visited China twice, so he was well aware of the situation there. When he learned about the persecution and organ harvesting crimes, he signed the petition and said, “Communism and the mafia are one and the same.”

On the same day, another petition was held in the small city of Zlatograd. Though there were fewer people than in other cities, those who stopped by listened intently and condemned the persecution in China.

Practitioners later presented the book Zhuan Falun and explained Falun Dafa’s fundamental principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Almost all the visitors wanted to purchase the book and expressed admiration that the practice was being taught free of charge. They also expressed their wish to have another Falun Dafa presentation in their hometown so they could bring their friends and families.

On December 10, practitioners talked to people in downtown Plovdiv about Falun Dafa and collected petition signatures.

The coastal city of Bourgas also joined the petition. Many of the passersby had already seen Falun Dafa on BTV and wanted to know where they could learn the exercises.

Varna

Practitioners from Varna, another coastal city, also organized a petition despite heavy winds. They held the signature drive next to the city’s cathedral, and around a hundred people signed the petition.

Since the beginning of 2017, a total of 7,456 citizens in Bulgaria have given their signatures in support of human rights for Falun Dafa practitioners in China.